Happy Happy Joy Joy
by Useful Oxymoron
Summary: ShizumaxNagisa It's been 2 years since that fateful day when she snatched away Nagisa from the Etoile election, and now somebody is nervous before her wedding. Happy Silly Romantic Fluff.


My first attempt at Stawberry Panic fic, previously posted at This is mainly a happy fluffy, slightly silly fic (with a hit of crackfic-ness) I wrote after finishing watching Strawberry Panic, which I think is a wonderful anime.

This fic takes place two years after that ending, so needless to say it contains serious **SPOILERS** for the ending of the series, if you haven't seen it yet. Oh, btw, I took some liberties with Shizuma's family, mainly for comedic effect. Though it's not a lemon, there's a bit of lime here and there. I hope you'll like it.

* * *

**Happy Happy Joy Joy**

_'Come on'_, Shizuma told herself while she paced up and down the preparation chamber in the back of the cathedral. _'This is a happy ocassion. You wanted this yourself. You're the one who asked her.'_

Just before she could slam her nose into the oaken-clad wall, she turned around and headed to the opposite wall with the same speed and determination, while deftly avoiding the sparse furniture. Only to repeat. And repeat. And repeat.

_'Happy happy... Joy joy...' _she forced herself to think. It seemed to work for that cartoon cat from the gross american television cartoon which Amane liked so much. Sadly, it didn't work for her.

"Trying to burn a hole into the carpet?" sounded a familiar voice behind her. Shizuma turned around to find her friend Miyuki smiling at her.

"This room could use a wooden floor, maybe," Shizuma replied softly. "It would add to its dreariness."

"They're all waiting for you, Shizuma," Miyuki said softly.

"I don't get it," Shizuma said as she plopped down into a nearby chair. "I want this. I want this so much. So why am I so bloody nervous?"

Miyuki little out a tiny giggle. "It's the same for soon to be husband and wives all over the globe, Shizuma. You're not unique. But I'm certainly seeing a side of you I've never seen before. It's rather cute."

"Was it the same for..." Shizuma started to ask, but caught herself. Miyuki had married a man she had never met right after her graduation. She had always tried to keep a brave face about it, but Shizuma knew her better than that... Miyuki was not happy. Some of the light had gone out of her eyes since those days they'd spent together at Miator. But it was something they never discussed. There was really nothing to say anyway.

"... never mind," Shizuma sighed heavily.

"Ready to go out?" Miyuki asked. "Or do you want to sit around being emo for a bit longer?"

"Hey!" Shizuma frowned, then smiled slightly. "Thanks, Miyuki."

She rose from the chair and went over to the mirror one more time. She saw herself wearing that gorgeous (and expensive) black dress hugging her form, the dress that her Nagisa so much loved to see her in. The finishing touch had been the simple blue sapphire on a golden chain. But of course, Murphy's Law wouldn't have been Murphy's Law if her long gray mane hadn't chosen this particular day to become rebellious. It had taken her the better part of the morning for combing and brushing to combat the frizziness.

Stifling her nerves, Miyuki led her towards the main hall of the cathedral. To her, it seemed almost surreal. Though she had spent plenty of times visiting Miator after graduating, mainly because her girlfriend was still studying there, the last time when she had set foot in this cathedral was when she had stormed in to declare her eternal love to Nagisa... _'Has it really been two years?'_

Two years ago since they ran away together. Two years ago since they had first made love under the sun in the warm grass. Shizuma had done everything in her power to make Nagisa's first time fun and memorable. It was just the two of them in the whole world for those few hours under the sun. They'd made love many times since then, naturally, but their first time together was a treasured memory for the both of them.

After they came down from the pink fluffy clouds, they had to start making living arrangements. The two of them set up their base of operations in Shizuma's summer home. Though Nagisa still officially lived in the Strawberry dorms, she had started spending more and more time at the summer home. It was just close enough to Miator to be able to get to school relatively quickly in the morning.

In the meantime, Shizuma attended university. The nearest university, in fact. Despite that, travel times from the university to the summer home and back were atrocious. But still, being with Nagisa was worth every sacrifice. And despite two very busy schedules, they found plenty of time for each other.

For spring break, they had decided on taking a trip to Tokyo to play tourist. Shizuma didn't know how, exactly, but somehow they had ended up in an Arcade, both of them dancing their limbs off side by side on a Dance Dance Revolution machine. All things considered, Shizuma preferred the Waltz. Though the DDR machine was... different... and tiring... it had been fun comforting Nagisa, who pouted so cutesy after having been beaten by an over-energetic eight year old during the next session.

Of course, now Nagisa was saving up to buy a Wii. She didn't know what to think of that.

"See?" Miyuki said, bringing Shizuma back to reality. "There's that famous Shizuma smile that's so popular with all the ladies."

Shizuma frowned. Had she been smiling? Had she? She supposed she had. Good. Better. Good. Happy happy. Joy Joy.

Finally, they entered the cathedral main hall. Most of the guests already had arrived and the St. Spica Choir was standing at the ready to delight the crowd with their angelic voices. For a moment, the ex-Etoile was stunned by the sheer number of people that had turned up. Students, Alumni, relatives... they were all here.

Some relatives she hadn't seen in a long while turned up as well. Kyusaku Natsume, her uncle from her mother's side and a brilliant inventor who was currently being berated by his wife Akiko for lighting up a cigarette in church, had brought his family along for the occasion. During the pre-wedding meet & greet, she finally got to meet her young cousin Ryunosuke, a spirited young lad with a zest for life. Curiously enough though, she found out she had another cousin she had never known. A girl about her age, sat next to Ryu, licking her wrist and running it through her hair every so often. Odd... she was sure she would have remembered a girl with a name as weird as 'Nuku Nuku'.

It was also nice to see her cousin-thrice-removed Kouta again. He had seen his share of tragedy in life, his father and sister having been taken from him so young and then having to live with supressed memories. Perhaps that had been a blessing. Kouta had stayed with her family for a while after that, before moving on, though Shizuma had been too young at the time to remember much of it. Kouta had brought his 'family' along as well. Yuka, another cousin, though more distantly related to Shizuma, was along for the ride, as well as three more girls. Mayu was nice enough, but the other two...

Far be it for Shizuma to be judgmental, but the other two were a bit strange. First of all, both of them had horns. The younger one, Nana, was really nice, but acted as if she didn't know the first thing about the world. Luckily, Mayu had taken her under her wing. But the other girl, that Lucy, now she was just damn creepy. And that was damn with a capital D.

Oh, she was happy for Kouta that he had finally fallen in love with somebody, but... that Lucy... When Shizuma had met with Kouta and Lucy, the horned girl just kept looking at her as if she was about to rip her head off. And even now Lucy was sitting there in the pew, glaring at some of the first-years and generally freaking everybody out.

Shizuma's father was roaming around the cathedral taking care of some last minute seating arrangements, chasing some girls from their seats and herding them to another bench on the other side. As soon as he saw Shizuma, he gave her two thumbs up. Shizuma rolled her eyes briefly, chuckled and then waved back.

Her father, a kind man, had been very accepting of her relationship with Nagisa. Nagisa was... not so fortunate. Though Nagisa was never close with her parents, they did not approve of her choice. And they were about as subtle about it as a sledge-hammer to the face. Last christmas, Nagisa's present from her parents (sent by mail) was a book entitled : 'How to cure lesbianism through the love of Jesus Christ'. The book had found its way into the crackling fire in front of which she and Nagisa had curled up for the evening to celebrate.

Though Nagisa had tried to keep a brave face about this, she had been deeply hurt that the obvious love she felt for her was not accepted by her family. It was telling that Nagisa's parents hadn't bothered to show up on this important day. And Shizuma hated them for it.

But this was not the time for such thoughts. This was their day.

_'What was I doing again?' _Shizuma thought. _'Oh, yeah, I was getting married'_, she blushed. _'Almost forgot about that.'_

Everybody was already in their spots. Miyuki was standing next to the altar, holding the rings, her father had disappeared outside, the guests were hushed and the choir was ready to start singing. The ex-Etoile took a deep breath and took her position in front of the altar, where nerves once again gripped her by the throat. _'This is ridiculous'_, Shizuma thought. _'I was Etoile for three years, I should know how to work a crowd...'_

But it wasn't the crowd that made her nervous... it was Nagisa. Or rather, the waiting for Nagisa. And as St. Spica Choir started to sing, Shizuma turned around to look at the entrance of the cathedral. And there she was. In her gorgeous white dress, flanked by her friends and bridesmaids Tamao and Chiyo. She strode through the aisle like a graceful queen while the sun shining through the stain-glass windows bathed her in a halo of magnificent colors.

With the absence of Nagisa's father to give the bride away, Shizuma's father had been kind enough to fill that role for her. At the end of the aisle, Shizuma's father let go of a grateful Nagisa.

Shizuma was utterly and completely stunned by Nagisa's appearance. Her eyes locked on Nagisa's as she approached, until her true love was standing right in front of her.

Nagisa blushed and softly laid her hand on Shizuma's cheek. The touch was electric. "Now you know how I used to feel whenever you looked at me," Nagisa giggled briefly.

"You are so beautiful, Nagisa," Shizuma whispered as she gently took Nagisa's hand to lead her to the altar while the choir continued their song.

Shizuma found herself under the scrutinous gaze of Tamao. Though Nagisa and Tamao were still close friends, the same could not be said for herself and Tamao, even though Nagisa greatly wished for it. Still, Shizuma and Tamao gained a measure of mutual respect for each other. Tamao could have made life very difficult for her if she hadn't had let go of Nagisa that fateful day, which is something Shizuma was eternally grateful for. Still, Tamao was very protective of Nagisa and often shot Shizuma looks without Nagisa knowing about it every single time she visited the summer home.

_'Hurt her feelings, and I'll shove this book up your butt sideways'_ ,_ 'Hurt her feelings, and I'll shove this garden rake up your butt sideways', 'Hurt her feelings, and I'll shove this grand piano up your butt sideways'. _All the same look, for but a few subtle nuances in her gaze. For what it was worth, Shizuma sincerely hoped that Tamao and her love Chiyo would find happiness together like she and Nagisa had.

"Ahum," sounded in front of them. Though this ceremony was in no way legally binding or recognized by any institution in Japan, it was important for the people who it mattered to. The marriage was performed by the current trio of Etoiles. Though a trio of etoiles was against school tradition, everybody agreed that to split these three up would have been a crime. Remon, Kizuna and Kagome jittered nervously as they prepared to lead the ceremony. Kagome seemed the calmest of the lot, and Shizuma noticed she was still carrying around her bear Ohshibaru, who was arguably the Fourth Etoile.

Shizuma and Nagisa shared a loving gaze before turning back to the three Etoiles. Just as Remon was about to speak, the choir broke into another song.

"Hey!" shouted Kizuna, a little too loudly. "Pipe down, you lot!"

The choir stopped singing abrubtly. "Right, uh," Remon said as she frantically searched through her cue-cards. "Uh, dearly beloved, we are, uhm... uh... Uh, line?" she asked her fellow etoiles.

"Ohshibaru says 'we are gathered here today...'," Kagome filled in.

"Ah, right!" Remon smiled, reading from the cards. "We are gathered here today before these family, schoolsmates and friends, to join together these women in Matrimony. Matrimony is an honorable and cherishable estate, and should not be entered into lightly, but rather with honor, respect, friendship, and love. It is into this estate that Hanazono Shizuma and Aoi Nagisa have come before us now to be joined."

Remon scraped her throat. "Who has the honor of presenting this woman to be married to Shizuma-sama?"

"Uh, that already happened," Kizuna replied. "Hanazono-san already gave away Nagisa-chan to Shizuma-sama."

"Ohshibaru says we should have rehearsed this better," Kagome rolled her eyes.

"Okay, okay, okay," Kizuna stressed. "Let's just get to the important bits, okay?"

The now confused Remon rolled through her cards very quickly, but didn't seem able to find the correct one. "Uh, Shizuma-sama... Uh... Do you, uhm, take this woman... Uh..."

"REGULARLY!" shouted somebody from the pews, causing Nagisa and even Shizuma to blush.

"Yaya, I can't believe you just said that!" sounded a shocked Tsubomi from the crowd.

After stifling the murmurs and the giggles, Remon continued. "Shizuma-sama, do you take this woman to be your wife, to live together in holy matrimony, to love, honor, comfort her and keep her in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others for as long as you both shall live?"

Shizuma turned to Nagisa, but suddenly felt a presence there, a warmth all around her. She looked up, to the light coming up through the windows high above. She smiled gently, having just received the blessing of an angel.

"I do," she spoke softly while gazing deeply into Nagisa's eyes.

"Nagisa-chan, do you take this woman to be your wife, to live together in holy matrimony, to love, honor, comfort her and keep her in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," Nagisa replied gently.

"Do you have the rings?" Kagome asked.

"I have," Miyuki said while the first sniffs could be heard all around them. She gave one ring to Nagisa and one to Shizuma.

Shizuma gently took Nagisa's hand and slipped the ring on her soon-to-be wife's finger. Nagisa blushed and took Shizuma's hand, trembling so much that she nearly dropped the ring. Shizuma smiled, took Nagisa's hand and gently kissed it.

"Alright," Kizuna spoke. "Then by the power vested to us by, uh, well, nobody, actually, we now pronounce you wife and wife. You two brides may kiss."

They hadn't needed to tell her that twice. Shizuma leaned in and took her beloved wife in a firm embrace, and for once again, they were only two persons on the world. Just the two of them. In love. She tasted Nagisa's soft lips and continued her loving exploration of Nagisa's mouth a while longer, before breaking the kiss and sending them back to reality, just in time to see Tamao shooting her her patented _'Hurt her feelings, and I'll shove this holy altar up your butt sideways'_-look.

Between cheers, applause, the crying and the occasional lewd comments, stood the two lovers. Today had meant the world to them, but especially to Nagisa. But then... Shizuma shot Nagisa a sly and foxy grin. Nagisa smiled back... she had gotten the hint.

Without warning, the two lovers eloped for a second time, belting away from the altar and ran through the aisles to the exit. Nagisa took a moment to throw away her bridal bouquet, and Shizuma looked over her shoulder just in time to see that Nagisa had hit Chiyo square in the face with it. The happy blush on Tamao's cheeks was the icing on the cake.

Shizuma led to Nagisa to her car, jumped in the driver's seat and raced off with screeching tires.

Some of the guests ran outside. Some, like Miyuki, had seen this coming. Others were murmuring and chatting about this strange turn of events.

"Aren't they staying for the party?"

"Let's start without them," Shizuma's father chuckled. "Shizuma's been doing this ever since she was a kid. Don't worry, she'll come back home as soon as she gets hungry."

---

The car, a classic convertable with the top pulled down, darted over the road, destination summer home. Nagisa had lain her head on her shoulder as she drove.

In a way, today had brought closure to a great many things. Nagisa would graduate in a couple of weeks and had already been accepted by the same university she attended. That would mean a great many differences for them. First of all, they'd need to go appartment shopping now that there was no more need to live in the summer home. It also meant leaving behind Miator and the strawberry dorms for both of them. The end of an era.

But first, there'd be a honeymoon. Shizuma had promised to take Nagisa on a trip to Europe. They'd be visiting London, Berlin, Paris... though not Amsterdam. She'd heard the stories of Yaya and Tsubomi's trip to that godawful city. Yaya's visit to one of the local 'coffee' shops had ended up with a stoned Yaya jumping into a fountain while singing 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' with an old hippy named Neil.

"I love you," whispered Nagisa as she let a hand slide across Shizuma's belly.

"I love you too," Shizuma said. "So very much..."

A grin crossed Nagisa's gentle features. A grin that developed into a naughty grin.

"Nagi..." Shizuma started to say, but was startled to find herself straddled by her beloved wife.

"Shizuma," Nagisa whispered while she ground her body against Shizuma.

Shizuma found her view blocked considerably by Nagisa's dress, not to by mention Nagisa herself. "Uh, Nagisa, perhaps we should wait until we get to the summer house..."

"I don't think I can wait that long," Nagisa husked. "I need you now."

Two years with Shizuma had certainly increased Nagisa's shamelessness. She realized her attention was drifting from the road considerably, especially when Nagisa gently started to rub her breast with one hand while Shizuma felt Nagisa's other hand sliding down across her belly.

"Oh, god," Shizuma whispered between moans. "Nagisa, I'm not spider-man. I can't drive and make love at the same time."

"Hm?" Nagisa smirked. "You're certainly agile enough for it. And don't tell me you're not, cause I know better."

Lust eventually overtook good judgment within her, and Shizuma took one hand from the steering wheel to pull Nagisa towards her for a kiss. One part of her mind was still screaming out for survival and for one moment, the mental image of a newspaper drifted in front of her eyes.

"EARTH-SHATTERING ORGASM CAUSES TRAGIC FATAL CARCRASH SHOCKER"

The loud honks of a truck passing mere inches from the driver's side brought both girls back to reality. The easily scared Nagisa was utterly shocked for a moment and stared wide-eyes at her wife.

"Uhm, maybe we should, uhm, pull over?" Nagisa suggested.

"Uh, yes, um," Shizuma smiled. "Let's, uh, do that."

"Yeah."

"It's better for our continued health."

---

The car had been parked haphazardly at the side of the road, and a trail of discarded clothing led to two girls laying in the grass underneath the Sakura trees somewhere out of sight and wrapped up in a picnic blanket.

"Rrowlll," said Shizuma as she embraced Nagisa and softly nipped at the nape of her lover's neck. She loved everything about Nagisa. The smell of her hair, the warmth of her body pressing against her own, her soft lips, her gentle voice, the way she whispered her name whenever Shizuma roamed her hands all over her body.

Nagisa giggled. "You're so eager today."

"You're one to talk. If I remember correctly, you were the one who couldn't wait to get your hands on me," Shizuma grinned. "You started it... now you're mine."

Nagisa blushed and rolled to her stomach. Shizuma lay beside her and treated her wife to a gentle backrub.

"I was so nervous today, Nagisa."

"You? Nervous? You? Etoile-sama? You're the picture of cool. If you look up the word 'calm and serene' in the dictionary, there'll be a picture of you."

"That's two words, Nagisa."

"Uh... Oh, yeah. But..."

"And I can nervous," Shizuma smiled. "I didn't want to let you down."

Nagisa surprised Shizuma by gently kissing her on the lips. "Never," Nagisa said after breaking the kiss.

Shizuma held Nagisa for a while, and the two watched the clouds drifting by for a moment.

"Do you think we should go back to the party?" Nagisa said.

"It'll go on for a while, if I know my father," Shizuma smiled. "We still have plenty of time."

Nagisa rolled to her side, facing Shizuma, who immediately seized the opportunity to run a trail of soft carressed along Nagisa's side. "We should take a shower before we get back. Clean up a little. We're a bit sweaty after, uhm..." Nagisa blushed.

"Hmmm," Shizuma smiled. "Shower... I like the way you think."

"Ecchi!" Nagisa batted at Shizuma playfully. "That's not what I meant!"

"Ecchi? Me?" Shizuma replied with faux-shock. "Says the one who tried to molest her driver while she was going forty miles an hour."

"Hm," Nagisa smiled. "Let's just lie here for a little while longer."

"Good idea," Shizuma before gently nibbling on Nagisa's earlobe.

"I love you, Shizuma."

"I love you too, Nagisa."

"What are you thinking of?" Nagisa asked after a bit of skygazing.

"Happy happy," Shizuma smiled. "Joy Joy."

"Huh?"

"I'll explain later."

An so the two lovers watched the clouds passing by a while longer. For them, a chapter of their lives had ended, but their life together had just begun.

* * *

End

Notes :

1. Concerning Shizuma's family, well, guest-starring are Ryo, Akiko, Kensuke and Nuku Nuku from the All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku OVA and Lucy, Nana, Yuka, Mayu and Kouta are from Elfen Lied. Hey, at least Shizuma has an interesting family. :)

2. What about that Tamao, huh? She loved Nagisa so much she let her go and be happy with someone else. Now that's strength of character. I felt so sorry for her, so I let her have Chiyo. It felt right somehow.


End file.
